I opened my eyes only to find myself staring at a ceiling I didn't recognize.
Where the hell am I? Whose bed is this? Why does my face feel like it's been kicked in? I thought as I touched my face.
There was still some minor swelling from the hit I took, but it had mostly subsided. I touched the fractured jawbone that had caused the tissue around it to swell, wincing at the pain, which in turn reopened the cut above my brow.
All fucked up. Excellent, I thought as I looked around the room, trying to gather information on where I was.
Looks like an infirmary, and I'm not alone. Judging by where this would be on the map we looked at, I'm somewhere between the kitchen and the service room, I guess, I thought, noticing the sounds of pained groaning around me.
The room was full of other Synners who were also wounded, but they were either fast asleep or picking at their own wounds. I began to search my own body for unknown wounds as frantically as the pain and lingering effects of the draining spell would allow.
"Calm yourself, will you? You're going to open your wounds if you keep moving like that," a familiar voice said from the doorway. I lazily carried my line of sight to the voice's origin, and found a pleasant-looking face with a furrowed brow.
"Hullo, Muluss," I mumbled, feeling my jaw ache, which made me wince. She stepped over to my bedside, sitting beside me and holding my hand. "Try not to talk, you stubborn bastard," she whispered, putting a hand to my chest. I couldn't smile with my lips, but I did what I could with my eyes.
"The Master would like to see you, if you can stand," she said softly. I closed my eyes and nodded slightly before she helped me up from the bed, swinging my legs lazily over the side. The white, linen sheets and soft pillows seemed to pull me close like they never wanted to let me go. I felt light-headed as I stood, nearly fainting from the rush of blood, but when I glanced down and saw that my clothes had been changed, I blushed.
Instead of my leather jerkin, I was shirtless, but had some linen pants that were loosely tied around my hips. My many cuts and bruises from the battles showed, and the scar on my back from the cave showed in its entirety. "Gods above and below, you're eighteen years old, and you've already been through all that?" she asked, observing wounds both past and present, including the latest addition on the bridge of my nose.
I could barely open my mouth before Meliss put a finger to it. "Sorry, I know I told you not to talk, but these wounds are a bit excessive, aren't they?" she asked, to which I could only perform a light shrug that I hoped explained enough. She handed me a shirt, helping me to get it safely around my face and other wounds.
I took a step, but my linen pants decided not to go with me due to their lack of a drawstring. Meliss couldn't help but chuckle a little as she looked down at my waist. "It's kuld," I muttered, trying to tell her it was cold in the room. She lightly patted me on the shoulder with a chagrined smile, letting me stand on my own for a moment as she went over to the nearby chest to grab a large towel.
Better than nothing, I guess, I mentally shrugged, wrapping it around my waist and tucking the corner into the fold at my hip and rolling it over.
I began to walk, but every step I took made my jaw ache more and more. I grunted as I took my first few steps, and then decided it would be best to suck up the pain once and for all. The two of us walked slowly for a few minutes, though it felt like an eternity to me.
Everything hurts. What the hell did I get hit with yesterday? Two days ago? Three? How long has it been? I thought.
My arms were sore, my hips were weak, and my jaw continued its throbbing. We came to a small flight of stairs, and went even more slowly than I had thought possible for humans to walk. "This is humuliuting," I mumbled. "Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?" she snapped playfully as I grunted and took another step.
It took us nearly fifteen minutes to make it up the stairs until we finally reached where the Master was being kept. I saw him with a large bandage on his left shoulder, while Pyle sat at his side to keep watch over him. The room still smelled of dried blood, as the used bandages had only recently been removed.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Thoma. We weren't expecting you to wake up this afternoon, let alone the following day of the battle," Taegin said. "Same to you, Mustur," I mumbled as I slowly walked inside. "Gods above, boy, you look like shit. Bernar, help your little brother, will you?" Pyle said, noting my swollen face.
Bernar walked over to me, drawing mana to his palm and infusing it into the swollen area. "That's much better, thank you," I said, feeling more relieved than expected. "You really should learn to do this on your own. It's not fully healed yet, but it should allow you to talk a little more freely for now. Speaking of which…" Bernar trailed off.
"I think it would be best if we left them alone," Pyle said, getting up from his seat and glancing at Meliss. "I will return when you summon me, Master. Come, Meliss. I wish to discuss something with you that I think you'll be excited to hear," he continued as he stepped away from Taegin's bedside.